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Oct. 15-28,2011. Vol 26, No 12. FREE.
0oqnotes.com
Breast cancer
^circles of love
Charlotte's CirdeUp, Healing Dragons work to provide
fellowship, remembrance, health, awareness
qnotes
arts, entertainment, news, views.
by Matt Comer matt@goqnotes.com
K aren Mosteller does not have breast cancer. In fact, she never has. But,
its a different story for many of her close friends.
"We were younger then," Mosteller says, recounting memories of
^0 friends diagnosed with breast cancer just weeks apart over a decade ago.
We were all taken aback. They were both healthy and exercised and did all
the right things. They ate well, they took walks — all the things you were sup
posed to be doing."
Mosteller and others gathered around their two dear friends to provide com
fort, support and love.
We felt like if we 'circled up,' we somehow could have some power in this
situation; I think that's probably what was in our hearts," she says. "If we circle
up then we can together either defeat it or hang on. I think it was a way for us to
certainly be able to do something to have some kind of power In what seemed
like a powerless situation."
Much has changed in the years since her friends' breast cancer diagnoses. In
2009, one lost her battle with the disease. "Circle Up," the informal support group
Mosteller and others formed, has blossomed into a fundraising powerhouse for
Charlotte's local Susan G. Komen Foundation's Race for the Cure. On Oct. 1,the
group participated in the event for the 13th time.
"There's at least 10 or 12 survivors who are a part of Circle Up," Mosteller says.
see Support on 16
School board
Darrin Rankin, Lloyd Scher clear,
consistent voices for inclusion
by Matt Comer matt@goqnotes.com
CHARLOTTE — Voters head to the polls on Nov. 8 to elect a new city council and at-large
school board members. Two school board candidates stand out as strong allies and advocates.
Lloyd Scher served for eight years on the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners.
That experience, he says, makes him an ideal candidate for the board of education.
"Having served on the county commission and having done eight years of budgeting, I
understand what it takes," Scher told qnotes. "I understand what changes we really need to do
to make the process better."
Scher's service on the county commission coincided with one of the area's most high-profile
see Candidates on 6
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